


The Black Sun Child

by Cyber_Sleuth



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Fire Nation Weapon, Friendship, Jealousy, tiny bit of romance, traumatic past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:27:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24894640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyber_Sleuth/pseuds/Cyber_Sleuth
Summary: There's a legend within the Fire Nation about an ancient prophecy...That a child would be born once every five hundred years during the time of the solar eclipse...A bender with no weakness and now...during the hundred year war, that child...has been born.This is the story on how they made an impact on a young Fire Nation Prince's life.
Relationships: Zuko (Avatar)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 19





	1. Prologue

_**Prologue:** _

_~Flashback; five years ago~_

"There you are, Prince Zuko. I have been looking for you, my nephew."

A man within his fifty's that wore rubes of different shades of red strided through the halls of the grand palace as he neared the one he called out towards; the nephew in question wearing light armor of similar shades to his own attire. The walls beheld beautiful tapestries that proudly adorned the Fire Nation symbol upon it in the center of each one. Coming to a halt at the boy's side, he lifted a hand as he rested it upon his shoulder and smiled down at him. "Are you ready to continue your training?"

Said boy, whose name was Zuko - the prince of his proud nation -, brought his amber gaze towards the older man, only to smile and nod his head once, causing his black hair that was held up in a high ponytail to shift with his movement. "Of course, Uncle. I'm always ready for more training. After all, I need to meet with my father's expectations, so I have to work extra hard." Though the boy looked no more than twelve-years-old, he already held a lot of responsibility; always needing to work hard and succeed in everything he does so that he would be ready to take his father's place someday as the next Fire Lord.

Iroh smiled kindly towards his nephew's enthusiasm. It always brought him such joy to see how much effort he put into his training everyday and yet still continued to retain his innocence unlike his younger sister, Azula. As they walked through the halls, heading for the training grounds outside, they were halted in their tracks by a sound of yelling along with bursts of flames coming from behind the Fire Lord's personal training room. Stepping over to the large double doors, they both peeked inside to see what was going on. What they saw left Zuko in shock while Iroh only seemed to form a look of sympathy upon his aging features.

Following a powerful step forward, Fire Lord Ozai suddenly thrusted forth his right fist, and then his left. Rushes of flame burst from his knuckles, increasing the temperature within the room. Quickly making a pivot upon his right foot that transitioned into a fierce kick, he let loose a punishing wave of hellfire right after the first two initial bursts.

The target?

...A young girl that looked to be no more than eight-years-old.

Managing to smoothly move her arms in a fluid motion that seemed almost like dancing, she used her hands to disperse the flames that hurtled towards her; the flickering and fluttering sparks raining down around herself. As she did so though, a fourth took her by surprise and hit her directly in the chest as she cried out in pain; the blow knocking her backwards and right off of the training arena. Straightening up his aggressive stance, the Fire Lord narrowed his piercing amber depths towards the girl, who was slowly rising back up onto her feet. "Get up now! I will not tolerate a weak weapon for my nation!"

Panting softly as she rose back up onto her feet once more, she pulled herself back up into the arena and took herself another fighting stance. Her unusual amethyst eyes stood out against her cream colored skin and short tan shaded hair that halted to just below her shoulders. Her form was so tiny and appeared as fragile as china, yet she was being tossed around like a rag doll; taking every beating she received, only to get back up again.

Her outfit was simple in design, yet very easy to move around in for techniques such as acrobatic movement; something that dealt with quite the amount flexibility. The attire consisted of brick red slippers that martial artists tended to wear, a lighter shade of red on her slightly loose fitting cotton pants that hugged around her hips and ankles, and the same shade of red as her slippers for her top which possessed kimono-like sleeves and would've shown her mid-drift if not for the black undershirt that was under it. However, this attire had singe marks all over it from the attacks she took on.

Unable to continue watching the training, Iroh quietly closed the doors back into place without being noticed by the two fighters. Sighing softly to himself, the man shook his head before motioning for his nephew to follow as he continued on his way towards the training field outside; his hands casually resting within his sleeves in front of him.

Blinking slightly in confusion of what had gone on in the training room, Zuko glanced back at his uncle before quickly following after him. "Uncle...Who was that girl and...what did my father mean when he called her a weapon? I do not understand."

Upon arriving outside in the warm afternoon while the sun's rays shone down upon their forms, Iroh halted and tilted his head down so that his gaze was towards the grass. "...My nephew...That young child is Sheon. Her parents were Fire Bending soldiers that had perished in a battle against a group of Waterbenders. She still has her elder brother, but just as she is, he too is a Fire Nation soldier, though he is only fifteen, himself."

"Uncle...That still doesn't explain to me towards why my father called her a weapon of our nation."

Iroh was silent when Zuko spoke of this. It was true though. Just because she was being trained to fight as a soldier, did not make her a weapon automatically, for if it did, then all of the soldiers would be classed in that manner, and Ozai had never once referred to them as such. After another moment of silence, he finally parted his lips as he told his dear nephew. "That child...is very special, nephew...She is the one thing that would still be able to fight and not be rendered at a disadvantage to the enemy nations during a solar eclipse."

"What? How is that possible, Uncle? All Firebenders lose their bending powers during the time of a solar eclipse. So how is it that you say she wouldn't be affected?"

"Because Prince Zuko...She is the prophecy that a great legend foretold. The one who would someday be born during a solar eclipse. Sheon...is the black sun child."

_**To be continued.** _


	2. Ch1

_**~ Present Time ~** _

Amber eyes slowly opened as they met with the ceiling above their bed; their arms resting over their chest and at his side. Slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position with his lean form propped up by a hand, his head was tilted down slightly as he gazed at his lap and bed sheets. His short, shaggy black hair fell slightly into his eyes in thought and brushed lightly across the scar on his face.

_'I haven't had a dream about that day in a long time...Why now?'_

Shaking his head a bit, he dragged himself out of the bed and rose up onto his feet. It was then that a knock sounded off at the door of his simple bedroom before opening up to reveal an aging man with slightly long grey hair and beard. "Oh good, you're up now, nephew. Please get cleaned up for the day and dressed. We have a big day ahead of ourselves again in working at the Jasmine Dragon." With that, Iroh turned around and headed out of his nephew's room.

Watching the door close behind his uncle, Zuko sighed softly and drifted his gaze out the window as he stared at the streets and buildings before him. He and his uncle had settled down in Ba Sing Se; thinking it would be best to give up on their chase of the Avatar and actually start a new life. It was a simple one and, despite everything, he was actually growing to like it here. They had even changed his name to 'Li' in order to make sure nobody knew it was him.

As he made his way downstairs, seeing as they lived in an apartment type home that was directly above the Jasmine Dragon, their tea shop, there wasn't any worry about needing to rush or be late in opening up the quaint little restaurant. After all, the stairway that lead to the upstairs home portion of the building was just in the back room where they brewed the many different kinds of teas and even snacks to go along with it. His uncle always did have a knack for making the most delicious tea. This was practically his calling.

Upon seeing him come down, Iroh smiled cheerfully towards his nephew and waved him over as he finished making a batch of jasmine tea for a young couple that had ordered a few moments ago. "Ah, nephew. You're just in time. Take this tea to the young couple at table five. We're going to have yet another busy day."

Grabbing the tray that had the cups of tea and a plate of cookies upon it, he walked over to the swinging door and pushed it open gently as he stepped out into the front where all the customers were seated and either enjoyed the relaxing feel of the place while sipping tea or were waiting for their orders. Walking over to the young couple that he had the order of, he carefully set their drinks and snack down before bowing slightly in a respectful manner. "Here you go. Please enjoy." Turning around to head back into the back to get more orders out to the waiting customers, he halted suddenly as he caught something out of the corners of his sharp amber eyes. What he saw though, made those eyes of the seventeen-year-old widen in both shock and disbelief.

Stepping in through the entrance, causing the little bell to chime, was a young girl that looked no more than thirteen at the most despite her mere 4'8 height by the looks of things. Her attire was like that of a Fire Nation Priestess. Black kimono-like sleeves were wrapped around the midsection of her under arms, halting at halfway over her palms - her left hand possessing a dark blue glove that only possessed a single hole for her middle finger, the other fingers completely bare. The top that went with the kimono sleeves was a deep onyx black that was sleeveless and showed off her slender mid drift with two red half stripes; one over each breast from the bottom, up. Below the waist was a short dark red skirt held by a black belt that halted halfway down to her knees, though her skin there was barely noticeable as white stockings covered her legs, halting about an inch or so below the skirt. To complete her look, she wore black slippers and her long tanned hair was done up in high side pigtails that were tied up in black jagged lace ribbon; teal beaded necklace with a sapphire blue tear drop shaped bead hanging loosely around her neck. Even with her hair up, the uniquely tan strands fell passed her slender waist and her light colored skin made the most striking thing about her stand out the most;...her deep amethyst eyes.

Quickly realizing he was staring, Zuko sharply brought his gaze away from the oblivious girl and hurried into the back where his uncle was. It wasn't that the girl was attractive that had caused him to react so strangely all of a sudden. It was how the girl had looked.

Three and a half years.

It had been that long since he last saw the girl that had plagued his dreams last night so randomly. There was no way that that could possibly be her, right? They looked very similar, though the one in the front was definately older, but then again, that would be expected. However, there was just no way, right? That couldn't possibly be his old friend.

After all, she...

"...She died on her first mission..."

"Nephew? What is wrong? You look as if you had just seen a ghost."

Oh, if only he knew how right those words sounded to him right now. It really did feel like he had just seen a ghost.

Shaking his head lightly, he lifted his gaze off the wooden floor and brought it to lock with Iroh's own slightly concerned ones. "Uncle, I...I don't know what I just saw actually. I saw this girl come in and-"

He was cut off right there as his uncle grinned mischievously and patted his shoulder. "Well, well. So my nephew has had his attention caught by a young girl and now he's all nervous. You always were a bit awkward around girls; especially the young, pretty ones."

"That's not the **point**! Uncle, I feel like I've just seen someone that was supposed to have been **dead** for almost four years now!"

Now that caught Iroh's attention as his grin vanished instantly and his eyes narrowed slightly in a serious manner. "Zuko, are you certain of this? I have a feeling I know of who you are referring to, but you understand the illogicality of it all...That mission had taken the lives of nearly the entire group. Only a few soldiers returned, including the body of young Kazu..."

"I know Uncle, but...if you don't believe me, just see for yourself then."

Iroh did just that. He stepped around his nephew and pushed open the door that would lead him to the front of his shop. Drifting his gaze in a careful scan of all his customers, they soon halted and seemed to cause him to actually freeze up at the sight of the young girl Zuko had seen moments ago now sitting at a booth, waiting for her order to be taken. Fingers twitching faintly at this in a sudden urge to wish he was really seeing what he thought, he slowly began to walk over to the girl. It was then, however, that he spoke up, though hesitant and unsure. "...Sheon...?"

The instant the girl's body suddenly tensed up and she hesitantly turned her head to lock her surprised amethyst gaze with his own, he realized right then that it truly was her. Quickly covering the distance between them, Iroh soon found his arms wrapped around the shocked young teen and practically almost in tears as he held her closely. "It really is you...Sheon, you're alive..."

"U-Uncle Iroh...?"

That was all the proof he needed. It truly was her. She hadn't lost her life that day; she had simply been hiding, it seems like. Pulling back slightly from his hold on the girl, he gave her a glance over before smiling to her. "You have really grown, Sheon...You look beautiful and so much like your mother..." Of course the two weren't really related, but when her parents had been killed, he had taken it upon himself to look after her and Kazu when he could during those four years...Before that tragic day struck...

The small teen seemed to blush faintly at the compliment on her appearance, but then fidgeted slightly in his grasp. "Uncle Iroh, I didn't know you were hiding out here...I had heard news about Prince Zuko's banishment three years ago...I...I-Is he here too...?" She couldn't say it. Sheon couldn't say that she had actually been searching for them since she had heard about such news. It wasn't that she liked him or anything, but rather, she had admired the young prince. She had grown up and been trained as a 'weapon' of the Fire Nation and treated as such. Zuko had been the first friend she ever made and looked up to him. She had told herself that if Prince Zuko ever became the next Fire Lord, then she would actually be happy to have the title of 'weapon'...

The sight of the older man's smile was all the answer she needed. Becoming much more relaxed now, she smiled faintly in silent thanks before ordering herself some sweetened green tea. Watching Iroh head into the back, Sheon sighed softly to herself as she calmed back down. She was relieved to have finally found them, even if it was completely by accident this time.

Back in the kitchen, Iroh had told his nephew of the news and it was easy for him to see that young Zuko had not been able to contain his surprise at what he had been told and in fact, looked as if he was still trying to process what he had just been told. While his nephew seemed frozen in place, he went to the stove and began preparing the different flavors of tea for the rest of their customers, including Sheon's own. Once done, he placed them onto a tray and gave a tray that specifically had Sheon's to his nephew. "That one is to Sheon. I'm going to let you give it to her while I bring out everyone else's orders nephew." With a gentle, yet encouraging smile, Iroh went out front and began to distribute the tea to each customer; not getting a single one mixed up.

Snapping out of his shock, Zuko hesitantly followed after his uncle before almost freezing up again when he spotted the girl. Gulping slightly, he hesitantly walked over to her and finally set the green tea down in front of her at the booth she was seated at. It was while he was leaned over when he set it down, that he really did freeze up slightly, for the girl had lifted her gaze to lock with his own; both pairs of eyes widening in surprise of realization. It really was true. Up this close to the younger girl, he knew it was true now. Older, yes, but that face and those eyes were unmistakably Sheon's. It was only then though, that her amethyst eyes softened and a smile graced her lips; a smile that he thought he'd never see again as well as her still sweet tone, which was only loud enough for him to hear.

"Long time no see,...Zuko."

**To be continued.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Likely a stupid question, but how does one place up an picture in the chapter? I have a sketch I did of Sheon from a long time ago, but when I click on insert/edit image, I jus' stare at the bloody box in utter confusion.


	3. Ch2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The image jus' below is of Sheon. It's a sketch of her I did back in like...2010 when I first began writin' this story. Sorry if the sketch isn' all that great.x.x"
> 
> Side note: ...Jus' realized after ten years that I never sketched out her necklace, so she's missin' that in the image...Whoops!

It had been two days since the two teens were reunited again.

Zuko still sometimes has trouble believing that it truly is her.

And who could blame him?

It had been four long years since he saw her and sure, he had only personally known her for a year before her 'tragic death', but...Sheon had been his first and, what felt like, his only friend back then.

Sighing softly to himself, Zuko glanced out his bedroom window. It was late out, probably close to midnight by now, but he couldn't, for the life of him, get to sleep. There was just too much on his mind to make that even a possibility. Deciding to give up, he slipped out of his bed and quietly left his room so as not to disturb his uncle, whose room was right across from his own. Making his way downstairs, the moment he stepped out to the main portion of the shop, he spied Sheon sitting there at a booth with her delicate little hands resting loosely around a cup of tea as she gazed out the window she was seated by. Her tan hair was down out of their pigtails, pooling down her back and on the bench seat and she was also in a pair of red and black robes, though he could tell that she had a pair of baggy sleep pants on and a simple top too.

Walking slowly over to her, he soon cleared his throat softly to get her attention; the older teen barely managing to restrain a smirk from forming upon his lips at the sight of the small girl jumping slightly in startlement. The moment she quickly brought her wide eyed gaze onto him, he closed the distance and took a seat on the other side of the booth from her. "Hey...Can't sleep either?"

"Uh-uh." Sheon shook her head and sighed softly before drifting her gaze down to her half filled tea cup. "I had a lot of things on my mind so,...I couldn't really sleep..."

"You know, you really suck at lying, Sheon." Chuckling faintly at the faint blush that covered her cheeks at being found out, he soon got serious as he gazed at her through narrowed golden depths. "...You had a nightmare, didn't you?" The sudden look that flash in her expressive amethyst eyes was all the answer he needed. During the year he got to personally know her, he had found out she tended to often get plagued by nightmares...Nightmares that usually left her jolting awake and screaming. He knew this because her room was just down the hall from his own since she was the royal family's personal 'weapon' and thus, needed to be kept close by. The screaming though, always had him snapping awake and ending with him rushing to check on her. The dreams were always the same...The death of her parents from when she was only five-years-old...

"Sheon, look at me..." When she hesitantly did so once more, he sighed softly and shook his head. He knew this would most likely be a bad idea and it was probably even the cause of tonight's nightmare, but he had to know. "What...happened that day? What happened four years ago on that mission, Sheon?"

Sheon tensed up slightly at the question and quickly glanced down sadly. He had hit the mark with this one. It had been what her nightmare was about this time. However, she knew that Zuko deserved to know what happened. After all, she had been his friend and she had just suddenly vanished; informed to everyone in the royal family and army that she was dead. Sighing softly to herself, she hesitated for a moment before finally speaking. "Well, you know that the mission had been to take care of some Earthbenders that had been causing our troops that were stationed in a village a lot of trouble...My group was sent to detain the benders and capture them...When we got there though,..." Sheon's eyes softened sadly as she allowed the memories to fill her mind while she told Zuko everything...

She allowed herself to drown in it...

_~ Flashback 4yrs ago ~_

_Fire and upturned earth was everywhere. The village was engulfed in flames and buildings were collapsed in several places. Bodies of both nations were scattered, either badly injured or dead. However, the fighting was still going on. The troops that had come with Sheon all rushed in to help the remaining Firebenders while she and her older brother, Kazu remained behind for a moment longer as they scanned the area for any possible traps or hidden benders that would give the others a disadvantage. Once it was deemed clear, they both rushed in to join the fight._

_Crying out as she leaped up and whirled around in a roundhouse kick while sparks of black licked along the entire length of her right leg, Sheon released a stream of black flames rushing through the air in a punishing wave, only to collide into two of the Earthbenders; the move effectively knocking them back before they could try to ambush her brother. "Kazu, be careful! You almost let yourself get attacked from your blind spot! You just turned sixteen, brother. This isn' a good day to die, hehe."_

_Kazu casted his dark gold gaze towards his sister as he smirked after releasing a whirling ball of fire at another bender's face. "Like you're one to talk, little sister. This is your first mission. Make sure you don' slip up or anything." Backing up a bit, he soon felt his lower back get pressed up against his younger sister's back and head, causing him to smirk. "Hey, Sheon. Why don' we try that move?"_

_"Are you crazy? What if we lose control and hurt our soldiers?" Sheon glanced up and behind herself from over her shoulder with an incredulous look on her features towards her brother as if he really was insane to even suggest this._

_Chuckling lightly at her expression, Kazu shook his head lightly and grinned. "Well, I have a good feeling about today. So what d'ya say?"_

_There was a few seconds of silence between them before a groan of defeat was uttered by the girl of the two. "Alright, fine. Lets get this over with, but if we mess up and hurt our own troops, I'm blamin' you, **G** **eneral**."_

_Flinching faintly as she called him that, he grinned sheepishly and silently hoped that his gut feeling was actually right for a change. Last thing he needed was to get his tail set on fire by his nine-year-old baby sister after all. That would be rather embarrassing. "Alright, ready then, Sheon?" Shifting his feet as he got into a lowered stance and his arms angled themselves, he casted a glanced to his sister as she mirrored his stance perfectly. After a moment's concentration as they synced up their chi together, their eyes shot open as they fluidly moved in a mirror of each other in almost like a dance as lightning sparked and crackled along their bodies; Sheon with black and Kazu with blue. It was then that the sparks began to blend together and whip around their forms in several arcs before they finally unleashed their attack, which wasn't just a single stream of lightning, but an entire electrical discharge as it was released in all directions, paralyzing anyone that were within it's range._

_Both siblings straightened up as they glanced around themselves to survey the results of their attack. The remaining Earthbenders were collapsed on the ground sparking with electricity from the paralysis technique that they had been working on, but thankfully none of their own soldiers had been hit as they had been smart enough to quickly scramble out of the way in time. After all, they didn't exactly wish to have had a repeat of the last time. It was then that they motioned for their soldiers to start getting the paralyzed benders onto the ship and to, not only restrain them, but also to gather up the wounded so that they could be tended to. The bodies of those that didn't make it would also need to be brought to the ship in order to be given a proper burial back home.  
_

_As they headed back towards the ship, none of them realized that they had missed one last Earthbender that had actually managed to escaped their paralysis attack. The bender narrowed his eyes as they passed by a small rocky pass that lead to the sea and slammed his fist into the side; the action creating a rock slide that hurtled down at high speeds towards Sheon, who brought up the rear._

_Glancing up towards the sound, Sheon's eyes widened in fear at the sight above her and cried out as the attack was too much for her to dodge in time or blast away. As she prepared herself to be crushed by the rock slide, she was suddenly knocked out of the way and hit the ground. Groaning softly from being shoved so roughly, she glanced over at the boulders from where she had just been standing, but the sight she saw caused her eyes to widen and fill with horror. Laying there between the piles of boulders from just below his shoulders, all the way down, was none other than her older brother. Tears filled her eyes at this and she quickly crawled over to him as she tried desperately to dig him out even though it seemed almost futile. "K-Kazu...Kazu, you idiot. Don' you dare die on me. You promised you wouldn' ever leave me. Damn it...Why'd you have to go and push me outta the way?...Now you're hurt."_

_Chuckling weakly, Kazu glanced up weakly towards his little sister and smiled. "I'm your big brother...It's what we do...We...We protect our little sisters...Heh...Though I guess Azula's an exception...I-I feel bad for Prince Zuko." Clenching his eyes tightly shut in pain, he coughed roughly, causing blood to splatter onto the ground and on his chin._

_Panicking at the sight of this, Sheon finally managed to pull him out from under the rubble and whimpered softly. "D-Don' talk...Y-You're just wasting your energy, Kazu...Th-This looks really bad...B-But you're gonna make it...You-...You'll pull through...J-Just like you a-always do..."_

_Kazu couldn't help but to smile weakly at this. His little sister was trying so hard to be positive and say that he was gonna make it, but they both knew that wasn't true. "Sheon...Listen...Y-You and I both know...th-that that's not gonna happen this time...I...I want you to be strong, ok?...G-Get away from here and...and live your own life...I'll...always be watching over you, Sheon...So please...survive."_

_Seeing the older boy's eyes slowly close, Sheon's tear filled eyes widened in a panic as she shakily rested her hands against his broken and bloody form, shaking him gently. "K-Kazu?...Kazu, wake up...Please...Kazu, this isn' funny anymore, wake up. Brother!" As she continued to get no response, dread filled her entire being as she slowly realized she had just lost the last bit of family she had, had left in the world. With that single bit of info she had in her mind, she did the only thing she could do..._

_She ran..._

_It was after that day, that she was reported dead just like her brother was; killed in battle. However, because her body had never been recovered like Kazu's had been, some believed she might've still been alive out there; Ozai being one of them..._

_~ End Flashback ~_

"Anyways,...that's what happened...I didn't even think to turn back or hesitate...But somewhere in my mind, I thought that if you ever became the Fire Lord, then I'd have a reason to return to the Capital...'Cause then it'd be my only friend that was the ruler instead of your tyrant of a father...No offense, Prince Zuko."

Zuko just shook his head at that last part. "None taken...I know first hand how ruthless my father can be, as well as unforgiving. After all, he's the one who gave me this scar and then banished his own son." Sighing softly as the memories were still fresh in his mind even after three years, he then brought an almost sympathetic look towards Sheon. "I'm sorry that happened to you though, Sheon. I had no idea of what actually happened on that mission, but it must've been very traumatic for you..."

Nodding her head lightly, Sheon offered him a faint smile. "It was, but...even though I still have nightmares about it, I push through and survive 'cause that's what my brother had wanted. 'Sides..." With that barely there smile still upon her features, she turned her gaze back out the window and stared up at the star filled sky. "...I know he's still watching over me from the Spirit World..."

After that was said, silence filled in between them, but for once, Zuko didn't feel that it was an uncomfortable silence. In fact, it was rather an almost relaxing, comforting kind.

...And he was just fine with that...

_**To. Be. Continued.** _


	4. Ch3

Things happen for a reason...So why did he feel like his decision had been the wrong one?

The Avatar was dead.

He was finally able to return home; this time without being tricked by his sister as a lie when he was actually being arrested that one time.

Yet despite how happy a part of him was at the thought of finally getting to return home after three years of being banished,...another part of him was guilty and crushed at the fact that he had taken this path...That he had chosen to take out the Avatar with his sister, Azula and in the process of it all,...turn his back on his uncle;...the very man that had stood by his side through his entire banishment.

...The man who,...as it slowly dawned on him the closer he got back to the Fire Nation Capital,...had been more of a father to him than his own.

Sighing softly to himself as he laid there on his back with his hands resting behind his head, he gazed up at the ceiling within his sleeping quarters on the ship. This was his last night before he would be able to sleep in his own bed once again. He would finally set foot on Fire Nation soil by mid morning, yet try as he might to get some rest, he found that he couldn't. Zuko had too much on his mind and his thoughts raced with what all had happened back in Ba Sing Se that night. Betraying his uncle and the trust of that Water Tribe girl, the sight of Azula striking down the Avatar in the end with her lightning bending while he had been within the Avatar State,...the sight of the overall chaos taking place as he had actually chosen his sister's side and his nation over the trust and love that his uncle had given him endlessly up till now.

A light knock at the metal door drew him out of his thoughts as Zuko slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position when the door slowly opened to reveal his visitor. The sight before him caused his molten amber eyes to soften faintly from their usually hardened or frustrated state. "Sheon..."

Standing there at the doorway while fidgeting slightly was in fact the very girl that he had found again after she went missing years ago. She was dressed in a simple dark red nightgown that showed her slender arms and halted at her knees. He almost thought that her nervousness was because he was currently without a shirt, thus merely in a pair of baggy black sleep pants, but he knew better than that. Zuko knew that her nervousness was due to being back on a Fire Nation ship and on course back to the very nation she had run away from...The nation who thought her to have been dead for four years now. As she finally brought her uneasy amethyst gaze to lock with his own, the older teen knew what she was silently asking and sighed softly to himself before shifting in the bed to make room for the smaller girl.

In an instant, Sheon had closed the distance between them and crawled into the bed with the young prince after she had closed the door behind her. Curling up onto her side, the young Firebender revealed just how tiny she was in comparison to Zuko as he too laid back down and wrapped an arm awkwardly around her waist so that they would both be comfortable and so Sheon would feel at least a tiny bit safer. With her head resting upon his chest and an arm draped along his front as well, she gently closed her eyes as she tried to allow herself to calm down and drift to sleep; the sound of Zuko's heartbeat and the warmth of his body helping a good bit.

That is, till he spoke up anyways.

"Do you...think I made the right decision, Sheon?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, do you think I made the right choice with all of this? I betrayed my uncle's trust. I allowed the Avatar to be killed and that caused any chance of this war ending well for the other nations to be crushed...All just so I could get back on my father's good side and be able to return home..."

Hearing the conflicted tone in his voice, Sheon lifted her head as she propped up the top half of her body upon the lower half of her right arm. Tilting her head down to glance at him, she noticed the confliction within his gaze and twisted onto his overall features as well. A small, worried frown marred her delicate features at this before lifting her free hand that had been resting on his chest and stomach and brushed her best friend's bangs out of his eyes gently with her fingertips. This action had caused Zuko to instinctively reach out in an instant with his own free hand and grasp onto her tiny wrist on reflex when she got too close to his scar. Noticing this, she sighed softly and gave him a weak little smile. "I can't really decide for you on whether it was the right path or not to take, Prince Zuko...That's gonna have to be something you learn through this experience...But...in my opinion,...I think it was a bad path to choose."

"Then why?...Why did you come with me? Why did you take my side in all this rather than try to help Uncle or even attempt to protect the Avatar so he wouldn't be killed by Azula?" He was honestly curious. This had been one of the things that bothered Zuko and swam through his mind; making him unable to get any rest. The tiny fire brand of a girl within his bed confused him despite her being his closest friend. Her reasons behind her own choices had always confused him even as kids before she vanished. Despite how open and friendly she was, at the same time, she was closed off and almost a mystery.

Remaining silent for a moment as she was asked this, the small girl seemed actually hesitant in replying. Sighing softly to herself, Sheon finally sat up fully and shifted her back to him as she turned her head to stare out of the circular window that revealed the open sea and the slightly cloudy night sky. At the feel of the bed shifting, she knew that Zuko had sat up, himself, and most likely held a look of confusion still, but also worry. After another moment of thick silence, Sheon finally turned her gaze up at him as she smiled sweetly. "I told you when we were little, didn't I? I'm loyal to **you,** Prince Zuko..."

As she said this, Zuko's mind seemed to slip off to the time she had said that to him. The day before she left on the mission that she never returned from...

_**{Flashback; 4yrs ago}** _

_"Stupid Azula! She's always ruining everything. It's not fair!" Flopping himself backwards, the young thirteen-year-old prince landed on his back in the garden that the Fire Nation Palace had. It was the area where he often spent feeding the turtle ducks with his mother or Azula spent playing with her two friends, Ty Lee and Mai. Luckily his irritating little sister wasn't around. Instead, she had embarrassed him yet again in front of their father, causing the Fire Lord to scold him once again. At the memory of not even an hour ago, he clenched his eyes tightly shut as he tried to calm himself and keep the frustrated tears at bay. It was times like this that he wished his mother was still here, but she had been gone for a while now._

_"You don' look too good. Something on your mind, Prince Zuko?"_

_The sudden voice caused Zuko to jolt in startlement as his eyes shot open quickly and sat up just as fast as he glanced around. His startled gaze soon landed on a tiny girl that was four years his junior with just passed shoulder length tan hair that was up in a ponytail on the left side of her head and deep amethyst eyes that would put the gem, itself, to shame. Instead of yelling at this girl to go away though, he just calmed back down and sighed softly to himself as he turned his head away from her and brought his gaze towards the lush green grass around them. "What are you doing here, Sheon?"_

_The nine-year-old shook her head lightly and walked over to the older boy's side before plopping herself down near him. "I came to find you. I mean, you usually only come here anymore when something's on your mind or you're upset or mad." Her gaze then became sympathetic towards his sudden silence as she took a guess on what was wrong. After all, it was usually one of the main reasons he came here. "...Azula did something to you again, didn' she?" The faint flinch was all she needed to see to know that she had hit the mark with this one. Sighing softly, Sheon shook her head before leaning forward and tilting her head to the side to try and get Zuko to look at her. "Hey, look at me, kay?"_

_Zuko seemed very hesitant on this, but did as he was requested as he slowly shifted his head a bit and brought his upset amber gaze to lock with her own sympathetic ones. It wasn't that he would just listen to anyone though, and when he got those sort of looks, he would get angry and yell; hating that anyone would pity him. However, this girl was different. She didn't pity him. She was simply worried about him. The small girl before him was his only true friend._

_Once Sheon had his attention, she offered him a faint smile before reaching out and resting her hand over his own slightly larger one. "Don' let what the prissy princess does or says bother you, Prince Zuko. I mean, who cares if she's a 'prodigy'? Her personality stinks way worse than Uncle's feet after a very long day." At the comparison that she used, she giggled softly when she saw that she finally got Zuko to crack a smile and laugh a bit. "But seriously though, Prince. You have nothing to worry about, 'kay? Azula may be more skilled with her bending now, but you'll become better than her after more practice and you're also the one that's next in line to becoming Fire Lord; not the Princess of Boar-q-pines, herself."_

_Chuckling a bit at this, Zuko sighed softly before giving a small smile for Sheon's sake. The girl before him was almost always busy with her own training and work, yet she still made time for him to spend with or cheer him up. It made him grateful that he had such a good friend living within the palace even though she was neither royalty nor a noble. However, as he thought about this, something got him curious. "Sheon, you're always helping me out even though you have your own problems...Why?...Why are you always trying to look out for me?"_

_Blinking slightly in surprise towards this, she soon smiled brightly up at him as her eyes gently closed in a cheerful manner. "'Cause you're my friend, silly. I'll always be loyal to you, Prince Zuko and be there no matter what. I don' care about Princess Azula or Fire Lord Ozai. You're the one I really follow and that's all there is to it...That's how it'll always be till the day I die..."_

_**{End Flashback}** _

Coming back out of his thoughts once more, Zuko brought his gaze back down at his friend, only to find that she had actually laid back down and was even fast asleep. Eyes softening at the sight of this, he lifted a hand and hesitantly reached out as he brushed a few strands of her mid thigh length hair, which was out of their usual pigtails, out of her delicate face. Just by looking at her, it was impossible to believe that she was their nation's weapon. She was such a kind and innocent looking girl, yet within that small body held incredibly deadly skill as a Fire and Lightningbender; a special one whose bending was black due to being born on the day of the black sun.

Sighing softly to himself, Zuko carefully laid back down as well and turned over onto his side to face the soundly sleeping young teen as an arm draped itself over her tiny waist and pulled her in closely as he held her protectively against himself. Feeling her stir slightly, but not awaken as she merely snuggled her face against his chest and murmured his name sleepily, he slowly relaxed completely as his eyes gently closed; allowing for sleep to finally take him as well.

Whether his decision had been the wrong one or not, he would let things take its course no matter where any of his future decisions led him. However, there was one thing he knew of for sure though, no matter what choices he made from here on out...

He knew that Sheon would be right there with him through it all...

**To Be Continued.**


	5. Ch4

It's been a week now since he and Sheon had finally returned to their lives within their home nation. His father had even been there that day to welcome them back, much to his surprise. However, even though things were slowly falling back into place again with his life in living within the palace once again, something was still different. Uncle Iroh was held within a cell and treated as a traitor. It was one of the few guilts that he still held within himself, because his Uncle also still refused to speak to or even look at him; not that he really blamed him...

After all, he had chosen Azula and the chance to return home over his Uncle...

Shaking his head fiercely to knock away such thoughts from his mind for the time being, he continued to walk the halls of the palace as he actually looked for Sheon. She had not been in her room when he went to check this morning and he had not seen her at all yesterday either. He knew that the small girl would most likely have become busy since upon returning to the Fire Nation, but he couldn't help but feel that prickling feeling in the back of his mind that something was wrong. In fact, now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen his father either lately. At that thought instantly entering his mind, mixing with the fact that he hadn't seen Sheon in about the same length of time, a mild panic began to set in and take hold. _'No...There's no way...'_

Quickly picking up his pace as he walked with fast, long strides through the halls, he turned a corner just in time to see his father up ahead as he exited a room that held massive double iron doors. "Father!" When Ozai casted a silent glance towards him as he jogged up to him, he bowed slightly in a show of respect before speaking. "Excuse me father, but...do you happen to know where Sheon is? I didn't see her at all yesterday and she wasn't in her room when I went to check on her this morning."

"What is this, Zuko?...Don't tell me you're becoming soft and taking a fancy to the little weapon." Narrowing his eyes slightly at this, he shook his head before motioning faintly with his head towards the doors. "The weapon is in there...I was teaching her the consequences of betraying your nation and trying to run away; especially, for as long as she had managed to stay uncaptured..." With that, Fire Lord Ozai turned and made his way down the hall to get himself cleaned up as he had a meeting to attend to. "If you know what is best for you, Zuko, I suggest you not get close to that girl. She is a weapon and that is all she will ever be. She is a tool for the Fire Nation's success within this war and I refuse to allow you to make her feel human."

Clenching his fists and teeth at this, he struggled to keep calm and not lash out at his own father for those remarks. Sheon was **not** just a weapon and tool for war. She wasn't either of those things at all. She was just a young girl that was born special. It's not like she had asked for any of this! It was then that he casted his gaze onto the iron doors and finally walked over to them as he slowly lifted his hands to rest against them. As he went to push against the cold iron, he stopped for a second as he hesitated. His father had said that Sheon was on the other side of these doors so he should be rushing in, right?

...But...

He remembered these doors.

He knew this room and what it lead to.

It was the very room where he saw Sheon for the first time all those years ago...

Shaking his head to get rid of the memory of seeing her being beaten and knocked around in training with his father that day, he finally pushed open the doors slowly with a low creak of the hinges. What he saw before him though, nearly caused him to be sick. Blood and scorch marks were all over the place and slowly struggling to push herself up onto her knees and the lower half of her arms was a badly battered and bloody Sheon in the center of the arena. Panic once again filled him fully now and he instantly rushed to the tiny girl's side. "Sheon!"

At hearing her name and the tone that it was spoken in, she weakly cracked open a single amethyst eye, only to see Zuko rushing to her side and skidding along the blood splattered arena floor once he made it. "P-Prince Zuko..." Struggling to lift herself a bit more, her arms suddenly gave out from under her and she would've hit the arena floor once again had it not been for Zuko's quick reflexes as he caught her bloody form into his arms. Flinching faintly from the contact, she weakly opened her eyes again just barely as to hopefully avoid getting any of the red liquid in her eyes. Locking her exhausted and pain filled gaze with his own panic filled amber, she casted Zuko a weak little smile. "Silly Zuko...N-No need to worry. I-I'm fine..."

"The hell you are, Sheon! Look at you! There's blood splattered all over this arena and you look practically half dead, so don't you dare tell me you're fine!" It was easy to see that he was angry about all this, but worry was clear as day as well. After all, anyone would feel such emotions if they saw their best friend in such a condition no matter how much said injured friend would try to write it off as 'nothing' and that they were 'fine'. Trying to calm back down for his friend's sake, he tried to take in the amount of damage done to her, but it was admittedly difficult with all the blood. "I'm taking you to the healer's wing. You need to be tended to or these injuries will just get worse and infected..."

Before she could even attempt to protest against this and insist that she was fine, Zuko was already rising up onto his feet steadily as he cradled Sheon in his arms bridle style since she was certainly small and light enough. Eyes widening a fraction at this as she gazed up at his face that was concentrating on what was in front of him, her gaze finally softened. Giving in to his wishes, knowing her prince wouldn't take 'no' for an answer no matter what, she slowly closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. She felt terrible for having worried her best and only friend the way she had and that she was getting blood all over him, but she would apologize later for that. Right now,...she couldn't help but feel so tired...At this last thought, Sheon allowed darkness to take her...

It wasn't until mid morning the next day that the small teen finally stirred and woke up. Slowly opening her eyes, the first thing she saw were the dark red of the walls and ceiling around her. Tilting her head slightly to her right, she spied tools that healers used along with a tray that sat on a table full of bloody bandages. Blinking slightly at this, realization began to take hold at remembering what happened and decided to glance around a bit more to see if the healer was still in the room as her throat was feeling dry. It was only when she glanced drainedly to her left that she felt her heart suddenly clench. Sitting there in a seat at her bedside with their arms folded on the edge of the bed with their head resting on top of them was none other than Zuko. Despite how close they were as friends, she hadn't expected to see him there, but what made her shocked all the more was the thought of him having possibly been here the entire time.

"Oh good...You're awake."

Glancing to the door of the room she was in, she spied the healer standing there with a gentle, yet relieved smile upon her features. "The injuries done to you were quite extensive. We weren't certain when you would wake up or if you even would at all. You lost a lot of blood so you'll be weak and disoriented for a while." She then drifted her brown gold eyes over onto the still sleeping prince and her smile softened to one of concern. "He refused to leave your side. I had told our young prince to go eat, to get some rest, that I would inform him of any progress made if you woke up or even showed any signs of waking, but he insisted that he would stay here. He hadn't moved from this room since he brought you in yesterday in such a panic..." Shaking her head at this, the healer casted her a reassuring smile. "You must be starving. I'll go fetch you something to eat and drink along with something for Prince Zuko."

Sheon could only nod her head faintly as she watched the older woman leave the room once more. After a moment longer of staring at the door, she drifted her gaze back onto Zuko and slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position, though she flinched at the dull ache that ran through her lithe form and leaned back against the wall behind her to keep herself propped up. Sighing softly once the pain stopped, she brought her gaze back down onto the sleeping prince and hesitantly reached out with a bandaged hand as she brushed his bangs out of his face, causing him to mumble her name under his breath.

It was then that he started to stir and Sheon instantly tensed up when his eyes slowly opened tiredly; his molten amber eyes having a faint glow to them. However, she weakly jerked her hand away from his hair when his eyes suddenly shot wide open and he jolted up; his eyes wide in panic before he seemed to realize that the girl before him was actually awake now. "Sheon..." Before the small Firebender could even say anything, Zuko was up on his feet and leaning over the bed as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, holding her closely; her own eyes widening in shock now.

"Z-Zuko...?"

"I thought I'd lost you..." Burying his face into her down tan hair, he held her a bit more tightly, though not enough to hurt her any more than she already was. He just didn't want to let go and wanted to make sure this wasn't just some dream. "The healer said she wasn't sure when you would wake up or if you ever would because of all the blood you lost...I already lost my mother and I lost Uncle's trust and respect...I couldn't handle it if I had lost you too, Sheon. You're too important to me..."

Amethyst eyes softened sadly at this before she finally smiled sadly and weakly wrapped her arms around Zuko's waist in return as she held him; her eyes gently closing as she did so. "I told you, Prince Zuko...You won't ever lose me...I'd always find my way back to you no matter what. I could never leave my best and only friend so easily. Not when we found each other again..." Sighing softly in contentment, she felt Zuko shift and take a seat on the bed so that he wasn't leaning over it anymore, but neither released the other. Instead, they stayed in each other's arms as it gave them both a sense of comfort knowing that Sheon was going to be ok.

As this went on, unknown to the two, someone was watching from the cracked open doorway. Piercing gold eyes narrowed at the sight and words that were exchanged before a sinister smirk played onto their features. Turning away from the door, the figure walked off down the halls. "Well now...Looks like Zuzu was hiding something after all...Perhaps things won't be so boring around here for a while. In fact,...things just got more interesting..."

**To Be Continued.**


	6. Ch5

As the days passed since Sheon's release from the med-bay, the wounds that had been inflicted upon her were healing nicely and had mostly made a full recovery. The only thing that still remained on her were a few small scattered burns here and there that peppered her torso. It was still unknown yet if they would leave permanent scars like it had with Zuko when he received his, but at least they didn't look as severe. When a full week had passed since her 'training' with Ozai, the small teen was already outside training on her own. She wasn't practicing her Firebending though. Instead, she was training her body; getting it back into its fully limber state as she pulled off a series of fluid movements that only a skilled acrobat could usually pull off. As she did one last series of back hand springs, she shifted her body in mid final back spin as her body twisted around. Landing back on the ground with her legs spread out halfway, she caught herself leaning forward as the tips of her fingers from her right hand rested against the soft grass.

Panting softly as beads of sweat danced along her lightly tanned skin, Sheon straightened herself up and kept her head tilted down as her heavy lidded amethyst gaze stayed locked with the ground. As the young girl slowly got her breathing steadied and slowed considerably, she gently closed her eyes and took in a deep breath before slowly letting it out at the same time that her left foot began to shift smoothly along the grassy ground without being lifted up as her leg spread further out and moved back to partially turn herself around. With her arms moving in a fluid, slow motioned movement as well, her hands soon ignited into black flurries and said flames lengthened and was soon in a twin ribbon fashion. However, when Sheon began to pick up in speed and grace, her movements looked more like a dance now with the flames acting out as her streamers.

While this was happening, Sheon was completely unaware of her surroundings for once, as not long after she began her 'dance' that Zuko had stepped outside to see if his friend wanted to spar with him. However, all words that he was about to speak got trapped in his throat as he became captivated by his best friend's graceful movements. The streaming flames that looked coiled around her hands licked along the grass, yet the green blades didn't catch fire at all. His friend had complete and utter control over her flame as she didn't let any of her surroundings burn in the slightest bit. As he continued watching for a moment longer, Zuko finally snapped out of the trance that the dancing and flames had put him in and made his way over to the younger girl as she finally came to a stop and made the flames vanish even though she kept her eyes gently closed. "Wow. I didn't know you could dance like that, Sheon. You're really good."

At the sound of the voice, Sheon jumped slightly in a startled manner as she gasped and quickly jerked her now wide gaze towards Zuko. Her mouth gaped slightly in surprise towards the fact that her best friend had seen her 'training' before a blush suddenly erupted onto her cheeks. Quickly shaking her head, Sheon glanced off to the side as she tried her best to hide her embarrassment. "I-It wasn't all that great. It was just a simple fire dance, Prince Zuko."

"Are you kidding me? Sheon, that was a really good fire dance. Way better than anything I could ever do. I'm a good fighter, but fire dancing? I was never all that graceful with stuff like that, heh."

Blushing even more at the compliments, Sheon bit her bottom lip slightly towards this in thought before finally speaking up as she hesitantly brought her gaze to lock with Zuko's own piercing, intense amber. "Um...if you'd like Prince Zuko, I could teach you? It could help you out more in fights cause it'll have improved your grace and ability to dodge more quickly..."

Zuko blinked slightly as he was asked this and seemed to hesitate on the subject. One really couldn't blame him after all. He was never very great with grace and acrobatics like Sheon or Ty Lee were so he really didn't wanna embarrass himself in front of his very own best friend, but not only that, they were also back at the castle. That meant risking at his annoying little sister, Azula catching them in this act...

"Prince Zuko...?"

Snapping out of it, the older teen brought his gaze to lock with curious, yet slightly concerned ones that were now closer than they had been a moment ago. Blushing faintly in embarrassment, he lifted a hand and rubbed the back of his head a bit uneasily. "Uh...I...guess so...But only for a little bit, alright? Last thing I need is my irritating sister to catch us doing this. She'd never let me hear the end of it with the teasings if she did..."

Nodding her head lightly in complete understanding of this, Sheon offered Zuko a gentle smile before she shifted her arms and feet into position again. "Alright then. Just mirror my movement and you'll do just fine Prince Zuko, kay?" When she saw him nod his head lightly and hesitantly moved to mirror her current stance, both began to move smoothly in sync as Sheon's hands reignited with black flames that formed into gentle streams and Zuko, the same, with red orange flames.

At first, Zuko's movements were a bit sloppy and tensed, but after a few moments, he finally began to get the hang of the fluid movements and found himself relaxing into the smooth shifts as well. Seeing that he was now in perfect sync with Sheon's own graceful movements right down to the flames even being in sync, the young prince couldn't help but feel a bit of pride at this. After all, when he was younger, he had always been teased and laughed at by Azula and her friends whenever he'd trip or slip up in pulling any graceful moves to better improve his Firebending and overall fighting capabilities. Now, here he was, using graceful movements that he'd usually seen mostly just Waterbenders or acrobats do, though Sheon had always been capable of it too for as long as he'd officially known her...

He was actually having fun...

"Oh Zuzu. Who would have thought you enjoyed dancing. I always thought my 'dear' big brother had two left feet."

The instant the sickeningly sweet, yet taunting voice rang out, both Firebenders came to such a sharp halt, that they almost tripped over each other in the process. After catching themselves, they both quickly turned their gazes off into the direction the voice had come from. Unfortunately for them, who they had **hoped** it wouldn't be despite recognizing the voice regardless along with them even saying 'big brother', ended up being none other than the deviously smiling Azula. "Ah...Princess Azula. Um...What brings you out here? I thought you were with Lady Ty Lee and Lady Mai?"

"Who cares why she's out here. I just want her to leave and mind her own business for once."

"Now Zuzu, you hurt my feelings. I came in peace."

"Don't **call** me that!" Zuko narrowed his piercing amber eyes in a fierce glare as his hands clenched tightly into fists at his sides in a gradually losing effort at trying not to lose his temper. Especially, not in front of Sheon.

Choosing to ignore her brother at this point, she cocked her hip to the right and rested her hand there as she smirked. "Father has given us permission to spend some time at our vacation home over on Ember Island. I plan on bringing Ty Lee and Mai along and Zuzu has been told to come as well. Anyways, I came out here because I assumed you'd be out here training in the sun like you usually enjoy doing, Sheon. If you'd wish, you're more than welcome to accompany us on our little vacation as well. I'm sure Zuzu would just love for you to come even though he'd have Mai there with him."

At the mention of how Zuko's girlfriend, Mai was gonna be there, a split second flash of sadness had flickered within her amethyst gaze before it vanished as if it had never been there. Instead, Sheon nodded her head lightly in compliance. "Of course, Princess. I would be honored to accompany all of you. Ember Island has lovely beaches and it would be a great place for me to train in a more open surrounding while the rest of you enjoy your vacation."

"Wonderful...Then it's settled. We'll leave for Ember Island first thing in the morning at sunrise." With that, Azula turned on her heel and headed back inside to leave them alone again. As she did though, a sinister smirk played onto her features as her eyes narrowed. _'I saw that, Sheon. It was there for only a split second, but you can't fool me...And I'm going to enjoy every second of seeing you slowly begin to break at needing to watch Zuzu be with Mai...'_

Watching her leave, Zuko sighed softly before shaking his head in annoyance and turning his gaze onto the younger girl before him. "Sheon, you didn't have to agree to this, you know. You had every permission to decline her offer to come along to Ember Island with us. I don't exactly have a choice in the matter though."

"And that's exactly why I agreed, Prince Zuko..." Seeing the sudden confused look that appeared onto his features, Sheon elaborated on her explanation. "You're being forced to go with Princess Azula and her friends. Even though your girlfriend will be there,...she is still one of your sister's best friends...I thought that...it would make you feel more comfortable if I were to join all of you."

Staring at his best friend in slight surprise towards this, he finally felt a small, but grateful smile form onto his features. "Thank you, Sheon...That actually means a lot to me."

Smiling sweetly, the younger teen nodded her head lightly. "Of course, my Prince. What are friends for?" With that, Sheon walked off as she too headed back inside so that she could get to her room to pack a few things she'd need for the little vacation.

As she disappeared back inside, Zuko stood there for a moment longer as he had watched the smaller girl leave; a trace of concentrated confusion and confliction appearing across his features. "Yeah...Friends...Just friends..."

**To be continued.**


	7. Ch6 Ember Island pt1

"I still can't believe you made me even come here. This is a complete waste of time, Azula."

Azula drifted her gaze over towards her older brother and smirked faintly as he stood there in the foyer with her. They were both in a swim suit that they had purchased specifically for their vacation since Ember Island was rather notable for its popular beach as a resort spot. "Oh come now, Zuzu. If you didn't come with us, then my friends and I wouldn't have been permitted to come either. Besides, I would think you wanted to see your girlfriend in a swim suit." When she didn't get a reaction out of him towards the mention of Mai in a bathing suit, she then narrowed her eyes darkly as a conniving grin played onto her features now. "Or perhaps...it's not Mai you would want to see in one, but someone else entirely...A certain...weapon perhaps...?"

"Damn it Azula, we aren't like that! Stop trying to pull Sheon into your twisted mind games!" Zuko turned his burning amber gaze towards his sister at this point as he glared angrily at her, but when he took note of the expression upon her own features, he knew right then that he had just given her the reaction she had been wanting. He had taken her bait and fell right into her trap.

Before Azula could comment back, however, two voices halted her from atop the stairway.

"Azula, what are you doing this time?...I thought we came here to have fun...Not that I really even wanted to come to this place."

"Hehe. 'Zula always knows how to get under Zuko's skin. I wonder what she did this time. Ooo, I bet it was about you in a swim suit, Mai!"

Both girls came to a halt before the two siblings in their own swim wear, though Mai's was a lot more modest than Ty Lee's. It was a good thing that Zuko was used to the acrobat well enough by now or this would've been a bit awkward to see so much of her figure bared to just anyone's view. It silently made him relieved that his girlfriend wasn't like that and had a lot more control rather than wanting to show off the figure she had herself.

"Well, now that you two have finally decided to join us, lets get out of here and enjoy the day." Azula turned to leave their father's beach house with her two best friends, but halted suddenly in slight thought as she drifted her gaze back onto her brother. "Zuzu, are you coming or are you going to wait for that weapon you call a 'friend'?"

Zuko gritted his teeth slightly at this before shooting a look that showed he was struggling not to lose his temper again. "Stop **calling** her that. She has a name; use it. It's Sheon. And she's a human being just like the rest of us, though I wonder about you sometimes."

Azula merely waved her hand in an uncaring, careless manner towards him. "Oh lighten up, Zuzu. Learn to take a joke. Of course she's a human, but she wasn't exactly raised like one. She's our nation's weapon; simple as that. Besides,...it's not like she has any **real** feelings. She only pretends to have them in order to try and **feel** like a normal human. Come on Mai, Ty Lee. The beach awaits us. Zuzu will catch up with his little **pet**..." With that, the young princess left with Ty Lee skipping along after her, though Mai hesitated a bit.

Mai watched the older prince with a faint trace of concern that she allowed upon her features now since Azula wasn't around and took a step towards him. "...Zuko?...Are you going to be alright?" She went to place a hand upon his shoulder in an act of comfort, but halted when he stepped away from it before it could land there as he looked away, causing her to slowly lower her hand back down.

"Not now, Mai. I don't wanna talk about it. Why don't you go catch up with your friends? I'll remain here and wait for Sheon to finish getting ready." Keeping his gaze upon the floor so as to avoid eye contact with his girlfriend, he heard her 'huff' slightly in obvious frustration over how he was acting right now despite the fact that she instantly went back to being her stoic and uncaring acting self. When she left, Zuko clenched his fists slightly at his sides in his own slight frustration over everything.

As he waited for his friend, he was actually about to go check on her when he finally heard the familiar footsteps. When he lifted his head though, to greet her, the young prince was nearly floored by what was now present before him. Sheon stood there with a faint blush to her cheeks and an embarrassed expression to go with it as she wore a two piece bathing suit with the top half dark red and strapless as it looped around and snapped into place around her neck, the top being in a similar style to her kimono top rather than looking like an actual bikini like Ty Lee's, and the bottom half was bikini in style, but had a short black half skirt tied around her slender waist. Her hair wasn't in their usual pigtails this time as it was now in a single high ponytail in the back. Her beaded necklace was also not on her currently; most likely because she didn't want to risk losing it.

"Um...Z-Zuko?" Sheon blushed a bit more as she saw the look of shock and almost awe upon the older teen's features and shifted faintly on her delicate beach sandeled feet. Amethyst eyes softened into a heavy lidded state and she tilted her head down faintly as a hand lifted and rested against her chest in a lightly fisted manner as if modestly trying to cover herself a bit more. "I-Is this not ok? I-I wasn't exactly certain on what kinda swim wear to choose so...a lady that worked in the shop I was in picked this out for me..."

Zuko finally snapped out of it and quickly glanced away in embarrassment himself as he lifted a hand to rest behind his neck as he rubbed it self consciously. "I...N-No, no. You look...fine. I mean,...gahhh. I'm really not good with this kind of thing." Getting slightly frustrated with himself, he mentally scolded himself in his mind over how he shouldn't be acting this way and that this was his best friend for Angi's sake! Managing to calm himself back down, he brought his gaze back onto the smaller girl and gave her a very faint, but reassuring smile. "You look great Sheon. Don't be so unsure of yourself, alright?"

Blushing faintly again at the compliments this time, Sheon returned the smile and nodded her head before she closed the distance and grabbed his larger hand into both of hers. "We best get out there now. Otherwise, I think Princess Azula will come up with some vastly exaggerated tale and lie to Lady Ty Lee and Lady Mai about what's possibly taking us so long. Last thing I want is a jealous girlfriend using me for target practice with those knives of hers, hehe."

As he was dragged along outside to catch up with the others, Zuko couldn't help but to blush faintly at the thought of that actually happening. Shaking his head at this, he berated himself once more. _'That's crazy. Sheon and I are just friends and I already have a girlfriend. There's no way anything like that could happen between us...Could it? No! That'd never happen. We're just close friends and that's all we'll ever see each other as.'_

Too bad a small part of himself was beginning to doubt that...

Upon catching up with Azula and her friends, they noticed that Ty Lee was already surrounded by teenaged boys as they attempted to charm her into a date with them. Mai was actually ignoring a few of the boys that were trying to get her attention as well and Azula had the attention of one older teen that was with a friend of his. Apparently the boy's father was an Admiral in the Fire Nation army and was trying to impress the princess with said status along with his looks. It was only when his sister noticed they had caught up with them that a part of him suddenly wanted to just turn right back around and leave.

"Oh Zuzu. There you are! I was wondering when you would catch up with us. This... **charming**...boy here is Chan and his friend, Ruon-Jian. He was talking about a party that he was going to be throwing at his place later tonight. Do you think we can go? I've convinced him to invite us along, but it wouldn't be **right** to attend without my **dear** big brother, right?" Well, she was certainly putting on the sweet, loving sister act rather heavily this time. In fact, it was almost sickeningly sweet and painfully obvious that it was faked, but apparently the two teens that were around her didn't seem to notice.

Before Zuko could retort back though, Ty Lee had jumped in about how exciting it sounded and that she wanted to go. Even Mai commented in that bored tone of hers that it might take away some of the boredom she was feeling so far towards this whole ridiculous vacation. Thinking on this for a moment, he finally sighed softly and relented as he nodded his head. "Alright, fine. We'll go to this stupid party of his. Just please at least **try** to behave?"

"Now Zuzu, when have I ever **not** behaved?"

"Will you stop calling me that?! You've been doing it all day and I'm beyond sick of it! And that's just it! You **never** behave!" Well, he had a point there. However, before he could say anything else on the matter or argue further with his sister, he heard a slight squeak behind himself. Wondering what that was, he glanced over his shoulder curiously, only to spot Sheon being suddenly surrounded by guys now as she held her hands up in front of herself while smiling a bit nervously. Watching for a moment on how the boys kept hitting on her in the way guys did with Ty Lee, it took quite a bit of restraint not to suddenly go over to them and beat all the boys black and blue. Instead, he shook his head as he tried to push away any bad thoughts on what he wanted to do to each and every one of the teens and walked over to Mai's side as he took a seat next to her on the beach blanket she had brought with her to lay on.

This was going to be a **very**...long vacation.

**To be continued.**


	8. Ch7 Ember Island pt2

The party actually wasn't that bad.

It seemed like a decent amount of entertainment, but at the same time, it was definitely boring. He couldn't quite place his finger on the reason, but considering the fact that a number of the guys were once again crowding Ty Lee to the point where she actually had to use her skills in hitting their pressure points to paralyzed them, Zuko supposed it was partly for that reason. It wasn't Ty Lee, specifically, that was causing it, but rather the hormone driven males that were attending this party. If not for them, then he suspected it wouldn't have been too bad.

As he brought his gaze over towards his girlfriend while he was over by the table that possessed the drinks, he watched her coldly turn away another idiot that attempted to charm her. Rolling his eyes at this, he walked over to where she was seated and took a seat on the bench next to Mai before holding out an extra cup of juice that he had gotten for her. "Here...I thought you might be thirsty."

Giving the drink an almost skeptical look, Mai finally muttered a 'thanks' and took it before taking a little sip as if testing to see if she'd even like it. Deciding it was ok enough, she took another sip before lowering it. "This party isn't nearly as exciting as that Chan boy claimed it would be...It's pretty boring actually..." When Zuko lazily agreed with her, she brought her attention to the older teen next to her out of the corners of her eyes for a moment, but then slightly turned her head as it tilted down faintly. "So...You mind telling me what's been wrong lately? You've been letting Azula get under your skin more often...Just what has she been saying to you?"

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you..." Narrowing his eyes slightly, he turned his gaze towards the floor.

"Well, I'm **trying** to understand right now, but you won't give me the chance to."

"That's because it doesn't concern you, Mai. Azula's been targeting Sheon with her mind games towards me. You don't know Sheon like I do though, so of course you wouldn't understand."

Mai narrowed her eyes irritably at the mention of Sheon and how she had become the source of her own boyfriend's frustration with Azula messing with his head. "What is it with you and that girl anyways? What makes her so special to even receive any of your attention, Zuko? You're a prince. She's not even a noble; just a soldier and personal weapon of the Fire Nation royal family." As she said this though, she had been about to continue, but halted in her words when Zuko jerked his gaze towards her with a burning look in his fierce amber eyes that silently warned her to tread lightly on what she would say next. Mai didn't like that at all. This girl was far too important to the prince and held a place in his heart; a place that should have solely belonged to her alone.

Standing her ground as she hardened her features in refusal to back down under his dangerous gaze, she spoke once more. "I don't understand what's so great about her anyway, other than the fact that she was born during the solar eclipse. If not for that, she'd be nothing but a normal soldier, but even with her so called power, once this war is won by our nation, she'll become expendable..."

That did it.

Gritting his teeth at the blatant disrespect that his own girlfriend was showing towards his best and, really, **only** friend, he shot up off the bench and glared furiously at Mai. However, as he spoke, he did his best not to yell and thus, draw attention to them. "You only say that because **you** refuse to even **try** to get to know her. You're nothing but an emotionless, stoic woman. You could **never** understand Sheon and what all she's been put through in her life so far despite how strong she acts for the sake of others."

When he saw that he got no reaction out of Mai towards this, he growled in frustration and turned away as he stalked off. He needed some fresh air to cool himself off. Otherwise, he was gonna end up doing something a lot more regrettable than merely breaking things off with his stone hearted girlfriend. As he made his way towards the exit though, he halted as he caught sight of familiar tan colored hair. Sighing softly, he made a move to go over to Sheon and hope that the presence of his friend would be able to calm him back down, but what he saw caused him to suddenly halt in his footsteps.

Standing there with her back against a pillar was indeed Sheon, but standing closely in front of her with the lower half of his arm resting against the pillar above her head and leaning over and close to her was the boy that had been with that Chan teen; Ruon-Jian, he thinks was his name. Quickly hiding himself, he tried to listen to their conversation, though he wasn't entirely certain why he was eavesdropping at all. Part of him had convinced himself that it was for Sheon's sake; that he was just looking out for his friend and wanting to protect her in case she needed it since he knew she had too good of a heart to attack defenseless people that didn't have any weapons, bending, nor knew how to fight period.

"Come on...I can show you a great time. You wouldn't regret it at all."

"I-I don't know...I'm here with the princess and her friends along with Prince Zuko...I...don't wanna leave them..."

"Is that right?...Well, from what I saw, Princess Azula and that pretty acrobat were having a grand old time here and that prince of yours was enjoying the company of his girlfriend. I bet they wouldn't even notice you leave if we were to take in some of the sights together for a little while..."

Sheon's eyes softened slightly at the thought of Zuko possibly not even noticing her absence, but then finally sighed softly as she glanced off to the side. "I guess you're right..."

"Of course I am." Ruon-Jian then lifted his free hand up to cup her cheek before directing her gaze to lock with his single visible one as he smirked faintly in that charming manner of his. "Now trust me...I'll take good care of you, Sheon..." With that, he leaned in to close that last tiny bit of distance, but just as his lips barely made contact with hers, he was shoved away from the younger girl. Drifting his now narrowed gaze to glare at the one who shoved him, he soon thought otherwise about teaching them a lesson when he saw that it had been the prince, himself. Scowling faintly at this, he turned and walked off to charm some other girls; preferably ones that didn't have a short tempered princely shadow.

Waiting till he was out of his sight, Zuko finally grasped tightly onto Sheon's wrist and dragged her out of the house without even a single word. The girl didn't protest or struggle, but even if she were to have, he wouldn't have listened to her. As he continued to drag her through the night along the sandy beach, he struggled against a steadily losing battle towards his rising temper.

"Z-Zuko! You're hurting my wrist."

That's when he finally jerked to a sudden halt, causing the girl to stumble a bit before he released her wrist, which would most likely end up with a bruise with how hard he had been grasping it. Clenching his fists at his sides, he finally whipped around and shot a furious glare towards her. "Just what the hell was that back there?! Were you seriously considering about going out with a guy like him?! He's nothing but scum and would've only used you till he was satisfied before tossing you to the side without a single bit of care and move on to the next girl! And what was that about you actually **agreeing** with him?! You honestly think I wouldn't have noticed you not there?! Just how stupid could you be?!"

Sheon flinched under the ruthless berating and harsh words that the prince was throwing her way. Caressing her aching wrist gently in her hand and against her chest, her amethyst gaze softened in a hurtful and regretful manner as she kept her gaze locked with the cooling sand. "I...I didn't think you would've really taken notice...Your attention became solely on Lady Mai. I mean,...I know she's your girlfriend and you love her so of course your attention would be on her...But the thought of my only friend not even noticing if I were to have left the party or not bothered me...The thought of you not caring hurt so much. I just wanted a distraction from it. Ruon-Jian was willing to do that, Zuko. He was willing to temporarily take away the hurt and envy I was feeling."

Hearing those words leave her actually floored Zuko temporarily as he gazed at her in slight shock for a moment. It was as if he was trying to figure out if he had even heard his friend right, but then again, he was also trying to figure out her words too. When he only seemed to get even more confused by it though, with both, her sudden mixed signals and his own confused feelings, he finally snapped. Reaching out quickly, he tightly snatched Sheon's wrist as if he was going to actually lash out at her and the look in his eyes definitely presumed that that was what was gonna happen.

Eyes widening in fear suddenly, Sheon braced herself for the strike she was certain she was gonna receive, but what happened next stunned her completely. Her small, lithe frame was suddenly yanked forward as it collided with Zuko's quite a bit taller, leaner body and warm lips smashed down over her own, causing a startled gasp to escape as her tear filled eyes widened fully in shock. A few seconds later, Zuko pulled away from her lips and locked his molten amber gaze with her own amethyst. "Z-Zuko...?"

"Just shut up...Don't talk." With that said, he suddenly closed the distance again and kissed her once more; this time a bit more gently as his free hand snaked around her waist to hold her flush against himself. When she slowly began to respond as her slender arms slipped up and around his neck, he deepened the kiss as he bit her bottom lip gently in trying to coast her to open her mouth in order to grant him access. At her soft gasp from his bite, he took that chance to slip his tongue into her delicate mouth as he took in her sweet taste and played with her own tongue. The soft moan Zuko got from her only encouraged him as his hand that had previously been grasping her wrist threaded itself within her long tan hair.

As they finally broke away for a second time to catch their breath, both friends were blushing a decent bit as they stood there with only the sound of the gentle waves in the background. Gazing down at her, Zuko took the time to really actually look at her and a part of him honestly wondered if his best friend had always been this beautiful. However, he soon snapped out of it when Sheon suddenly pulled herself away and glanced off to the side as her eyes held sadness within them once again. Confusion filling his own, he went to take a step towards her and reach his hand out to her. "Sheon?...What's wrong?"

"Stay back!...Don't...D-Don't come any closer, Zuko...Please..." Bringing her tear filled, broken gaze to lock with the prince's, she fought to keep the tears from actually falling. She was so confused now and had no idea why her heart was suddenly beating so quickly nor why she felt so safe and at home within Zuko's embrace and when he had kissed her...And it was that kiss that confused her all the more. Zuko **had** a **girlfriend** for Angi's sake! Why did he go and kiss her and-...?!

...Why did she have to actually enjoy it as much as she had...?

Before Zuko could try to reach for her again or even stop her, Sheon quickly turned around and ran off. She ran and ran without stopping for even a second till she arrived back at Fire Lord Ozai's beach house and even then, she didn't stop till she made it into the room she was using to sleep in and quickly closed the door behind herself; locking it. Only then did she finally stop running and allowed herself to crumple to the floor with her folded legs resting on either side of her waist as she cried.

Back on the beach, Zuko still stood where Sheon had left him; his eyes slightly wide in realization of what he had actually just done. However, even as he became frustrated with and cursed himself for doing that and hurting Sheon like he had done, he couldn't help but remember how soft and warm her lips had been against his own and how right it had felt to have her pressed against himself within his arms...

...How much he felt belonged...

**"Damn it..."**

**To be continued.**


	9. Ch8

It was early morning and the sound of bare feet were heard padding against the wooden floors from on the other side of a closed door. On the other side was a large, beautifully furbished room and the sound was being caused by none other than Zuko as he was pacing back and forth in his bedroom. His hands were clasped behind himself against his lower back and a stressed, yet tired look was easily seen upon his features. The group of teens had returned back from their vacation on Ember Island the other day and yet, during the rest of their vacation after that one night and even since they had returned home, Sheon had not spoken a word to him and, in fact, had even tried to actively avoid him all together.

He should know...

He had tried to talk to her and **try** to apologize and explain himself, but she would just excuse herself, saying she was busy or some other excuse, and quickly run away.

As his stress levels on his current worrisome issue began to rise even further in his mind, a knock suddenly sounded off on his door. Halting in his pacing, he turned his sharp, tired amber gaze onto his door as the one out in the hall opened it without so much as even a response from him. When he saw that it was Ty Lee, he actually looked more exasperated than angry at her appearance. "Not now, Ty Lee. I don't have time for any of your stupid games or teasings. I have a lot on my mind right now."

"Um...That's kinda why I'm here, Zuko." Ty Lee didn't have that perky tone to her voice, which was honestly a rarity and it was because of this that caused Zuko to glance back at her again as she stepped into the room and quietly closed the door behind herself. "I know you and I aren't exactly close and that I teased you with 'Zula, but...well, it's gotten hard for me to sit by now and watch this even though 'Zula is really enjoying this way too much."

"What are you talking about, Ty Lee? Will you just get to the point already so you can leave me alone?"

"I want to help you get Sheon back."

Zuko had been in the process of turning around so his back was to Ty Lee, but when he heard those words, he suddenly froze up and his eyes slowly widened in disbelief as he gazed at the floor. "You...what?"

"I want to help you get Sheon back." Ty Lee took a few steps towards the prince and lifted a hand as she rested it delicately onto his right arm. "You two are such good friends...And even though I don't really know what happened, - 'Zula won't explain what she thinks - I want to help you. I mean, you've always been all scowly and broody, but around Sheon, you're actually happy; happier around her than you ever were around Mai despite her being your girlfriend, though I guess that ended back on Ember Island, huh?" Tilting her head to the side, she gave Zuko a bit of a sympathetic look. Sure, she always made herself out to be this peppy, upbeat acrobat that tended to annoy some people with the amount of cheerfulness and carefree attitude that she gave off, but that was only what she wanted people to see; what they **expected** to see.

But she was so much more than that...

And seeing Zuko like this and Sheon so unhappy, Ty Lee just had to step in.

"...Why are you doing this?...What's in it for you?"

"I want to see you smile again...I know you, Zuko...You look a lot better when you smile and your aura is a lot more calm." She then pulled her hand away and she glanced off to the side. "Besides that,...Sheon isn't happy either...She's been really distanced since whatever happened between you two and she doesn't smile anymore. Instead, she looks lost and like a part of her spirit broke. It's...uncomfortable and sad for me to see her spirit broken when I'd always been so used to seeing her filled with determination and passion..."

Hesitantly bringing his gaze onto Ty Lee at hearing all of this, he searched her grey eyes for any hint that she could be trying to trick him into a trap or something. When he found no such thing, his eyes softened faintly as he relented and nodded his head slightly. "...Thank you, Ty Lee..."

At the thanks, Ty Lee closed her eyes gently as a bright smile formed onto her usually cheerful features. "Of course, Zuko. Now...Lets think of a plan, kay?"

The two teens spent that entire day in Zuko's room as they sat there cross-legged upon his bed, thinking of any ideas to come up with in hopes of making things right again and correcting the actions he had made.

No...Not correct...

He didn't regret what he did that night.

He regretted the circumstances that had led up to it.

But Zuko could never regret that kiss...

By the time the sun had set and the moon took its place in the sky for the night, Zuko and Ty Lee had listed a number of possible ideas, but when each one was said aloud and they thought on it for a moment, they found faults in each one on why they wouldn't work. Either it was something Sheon didn't like or she just wasn't that type of girl or it was something that she'd never go for entirely as it was flat out stupid once said plan was spoken aloud. In the end, Ty Lee decided it was getting late and said her goodnight to Zuko as she left the room to retire to her own for some much needed sleep. After all, brainstorming all day was a lot more exhausting than one initially thought it would be.

That night seemed to drag on for what felt like forever to the young prince though. So much so, that he actually had trouble getting to sleep as his restless mind kept him from doing so. Grunting lightly in frustration, he kicked off the light bed sheet that had covered him and shifted around as he threw his feet off the bed in his motion of sitting up. Pushing himself off the bed, he stood and walked over to the glass double doors that led out to the balcony that was attached to his room. Stepping outside onto it, he closed his eyes gently as he allowed the cool, gentle breeze to brush against the pale skin of his bare torso since he went to bed without a shirt on like usual during the warm seasons.

As he stood out there with his hands gripping the iron railing for what seemed like at least half an hour, his eyes slowly opened faintly at the strange sound that he began to hear

...No...

Not strange...

Concentrating a bit more on what he was hearing, he realized it was music...Someone was singing. Blinking slightly, Zuko glanced around a bit before looking down out at the garden. There, in the distance, amongst some of the flowers, was none other than Sheon, who was singing softly while sitting in the grass. Laying in her lap was a Messenger Hawk, but that wasn't any ordinary one. This one, in particular, had once belonged to Sheon before she had vanished. Apparently, he had finally been reunited with her again after over four long years apart.

Shaking his head slightly to clear his thoughts between the girl below and her pet, he allowed himself to quietly listen to her gentle singing. He was finally able to pick up on the lyrics and realized that it was a song he knew rather well. His Uncle had sang it sometimes to him when he was still little whenever he had trouble sleeping and then on the rare times when he would catch him visiting the tree that held his son's 'grave'. He had even caught him making a memorial under a tree on a hill in Ba Sing Se when he secretly followed him the day of Lu Ten's birthday. Closing his eyes tightly at the memories in an attempt to block them out, he did his best to focus on the girl singing the song and the surprisingly beautiful voice that she possessed.

When the song finally ended, he watched as she gently woke up her pet and had him leap up onto her shoulder so she could rise up onto her feet once more. Not wanting to get caught, Zuko quickly slipped back inside before he was spotted and closed the doors behind him. Returning to his bed, he crawled back into it and laid his head down into one of the plush pillows he had there. Closing his eyes gently once more to rest, sleep finally managed to consume him, but this time, a very faint smile graced his features.

The young prince might just know what to do in order to save his friendship with Sheon...

And maybe...

**Hopefully...**

Turn it into something more...

**To be continued.**


	10. Ch9

He couldn't believe it...

How could this have happened?

Zuko had woken up early only a few days after he had decided on a sure fire plan. The order he had given to be special made had finally been completed and was sent to his room this morning. However, where he thought he would finally be forgiven, he found himself standing in the center of Sheon's bedroom. The bed was untouched and the pedestal-style perch that her Messenger Hawk, Chrono slept on was vacant with not a single bit of food or water in his dishes. Even the specially made armor for him - the helmet, chest plate, and razor sharp iron casings for the talons - were no longer where they usually rested and always perfectly polished. Instead, a rolled up piece of parchment had been found at the foot of her bed, which was now held within Zuko's grasp limply and opened.

_Prince Zuko,_

_If you're reading this, then that means I'm already gone. I didn't mean for this to happen and worst yet, I had never wished to ever leave your side. However, my mind and heart ache and I fear that I can't remain any longer. I know that you love Mai and that you were merely confused and frustrated when you kissed me that night on Ember Island. I understand that completely now. I had always promised that I would remain at your side and loyal to you, alone, and it breaks my heart to end up breaking that very promise that I made when we were younger. Mai loves you though, and since you return those feelings no matter how confused you are, I have no right as a mere weapon to come between that._

_I have left the Fire Nation and thus, betrayed our people. I know that the Avatar lives. I saw it in my dreams and so I've decided to go and help him. I'll become his teacher and train him to fire bend. When the time comes, I'll return. But this time, it'll be to bring down Fire Lord Ozai and finally end this terrible war that left myself and so many others with no home or family._

_I love you, Prince Zuko. I can finally admit to you and myself that, but I don't deserve you. I pray to Agni that you'll escape this war and find happiness._

_Sheon_

Clenching his teeth tightly together, he struggled to fight back the tears as the small box within his other hand fell out of his grasp and clattered to the floor. The top fell open, spilling its contents as it revealed a simple necklace with two amber gems each on either side of a beautifully carved flame made from an amethyst gem. Tilting his head down, his amber eyes locked onto the necklace and knelt down as he gently picked it up. Gazing at the item with shimmering eyes, he finally pocketed it and left the room. Zuko had never felt so broken before; not even when his father banished him...He had failed and now, he had no clue as to what to do now. He needed advice now more than ever before.

Coming to a conclusion, Zuko hurriedly slipped out of the castle after stopping off at his room to grab a hooded cloak and made his way to the holding chamber where they were keeping Iroh. When he arrived, he quickly knocked out the guard there while hidden by the cloak and hesitantly walked towards the cell.

"What is it that you want? I have nothing to say to a young man who chose power and his father over a life of peace and happiness..." Iroh didn't even bother to turn and face the visitor. He knew exactly who it was that had come to visit him, and he was still very disappointed in his soon to be eighteen-year-old nephew.

Eyes softening despairingly towards this, Zuko seated himself upon his knees before the cell and tilted his head down. "Uncle, I'm sorry...I made a mistake. I let Azula's words cloud my mind and sway me to her side; made me betray one of the only people who ever truly believed in me...I want to make things right again, Uncle, but I need help. I can't do this alone. Please, Uncle..."

Casting a slight glance over his shoulder at his nephew, Iroh saw merely the shell of a man now. Something else had happened to have caused this. It hadn't simply been the terrible mistake that he had made back in Ba Sing Se.

Finally turning around to face his broken nephew, he spoke up. "Welcome back, my nephew...All hope is not lost. You can still redeem yourself. The Avatar is still alive. You can help him and his friends to finally put a stop to this war; to stop your father's ruthless reign..." At seeing the sudden flash of heartache that flickered in his eyes at the mention of the Avatar though, he became curious towards what that other thing was that was troubling him. "But that is not all that is troubling you, is it Prince Zuko?...What is it that has you more broken than ever before...?"

"It's...Sheon. I...I did something...a few weeks back and...now she's gone..." Tilting his head in shame and heartache, Zuko closed his eyes tight in an effort to fight back the tears that threatened to fall again. "She left to go help the Avatar end this war..."

"Prince Zuko, look at me." When he saw the young prince reluctantly do so, he continued with a tentative tone. "What did you do? Sheon is incredibly loyal to you. She would not abandon you so easily. She would rather be killed than ever leave your side..."

"I...I kissed her..."

Tilting his head back down and off to the side, he explained what happened on Ember Island. "Mai and I had another argument, but...this time it had been over Sheon. She didn't like how close we were and said that a 'weapon' like her didn't deserve to be associating with a prince of an entire nation; that once the war was finally won by our nation, she would become **expendable** **!** " Clenching his fists in his lap in a struggle to reign in his anger, he forced himself to keep going. "I yelled at Mai, telling her she had no right to insult Sheon like that and that whether she liked it or not, she was my best friend. We broke up after that and I was going to leave the party on Ember Island to get some fresh air. That's when...I saw this other boy flirting with Sheon...He was a player trying to lure her away for some alone time...I...I got so mad that I knocked him away from her and then dragged Sheon outside to the beach..."

"Go on nephew...What happened next? I do not think it ends there, does it?"

Shaking his head in a silent reply that it wasn't where it ended, he continued the rest. "Sheon and I ended up in an argument, and...she mentioned about how she had been jealous of Mai and hurt by seeing me around her...I didn't understand what happened during that moment, but something in me finally snapped and I kissed her...When she pushed away from me a few moments later, she looked so...hurt and betrayed...She told me to stay away and ran off..."

"I see...Zuko, you may have been oblivious to it and she as well, but I knew since you were both still children that she has loved you. Sheon is pure of heart like you were. She has never let power and the Fire Lord taint her heart. However, though she has always held a strong will and fierce determination in everything she, herself, stood for, she also had a great and powerful weakness..."

"...Me..."

"That's right...You are her **greatest** strength, **but**...you are also her greatest **weakness**. It is because of her love for you that she seems to have run away to help the Avatar. She believes that if this war finally ends and your father, the very man who caused you such pain and anguish for so long, is defeated, that you can finally find peace and happiness again...Sheon believes this with all of her heart and also probably thinks that in doing this, things will settle between you and Lady Mai so that you can be happy with her..."

"But that's-!" Rising up onto his feet at this, he shook his head as Zuko rested his palm against his chest; his other hand stretched out slightly at his side. "That's **not** what I want! At least not the last part! Mai **can't** make me happy! I know that now! I was only truly happy when **Sheon** was with me!"

"...You love her..." Eyes softened faintly as an understanding smile graced his features towards his nephew. "Your emotions have been conflicted and very turbulent, but finally you have settled a part of those emotions; the ones that revolved around Sheon." At seeing the dawning of full realization appearing within Zuko's eyes, he sighed softly and came to a conclusion, himself. "Zuko...Listen carefully to what I am about to say, understand?"

Snapping out of it, Zuko nodded his head faintly. "Yes, Uncle."

"The day of the solar eclipse is soon. When that time comes, I am going to escape from here and leave to help the young Avatar and his friends. Sheon will most likely be with them by then, but she will need help if she is to successfully teach the Avatar Firebending. She cannot do it alone..." Iroh then narrowed his gaze towards Zuko as he said this last part. "...The Fire Nation will become the enemy till we can take it back from my brother,...but will you follow me and finally carve the path you were meant to take rather than the path that you have been forced down?"

Zuko seemed slightly surprised by this. Not so much towards the plan his uncle intended to make, but rather that he was asking that he come with him; willingly betray his father and nation to help the Avatar in finally putting an end to this hundred year war for the better of **all** the nations. As he seemed slightly hesitant in coming up with a decision, the image of Sheon's bright, affectionate smile while calling out his name and reaching a hand out towards him for him to take appeared in his mind. This caused Zuko to finally close his eyes gently for a moment. When he finally reopened them, those amber eyes were narrowed once more and beheld a fire in them towards the resolve he decided on.

"Yes, Uncle...I'll betray our nation in order to save it and help the Avatar...Anything to finally bring an end to this war and get Sheon back..."

_'Just wait for me, Sheon...I'll prove that you deserve me.'_

**End**

**(Till the SEQUEL)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, this was the final chapter and sadly, I don't have the sequel for it started yet due to everythin' else I need ta post up and all. Some stories are even gonna probably take priority over it, but I hope everyone will be patient with me and thank you so much for readin' this. 'The Black Sun Child' will return again with its sequel.


End file.
